We Foxes, presented as part of The York's NEO initiative ("New, Emerging, Outstanding"), is held at 3 PM.
Directed by Mike Donahue with music direction by Rich Silverstein, the piece features a book, music and lyrics by Oliver, whose acclaimed Jasper in Deadland was seen Off-Broadway this spring.
Emily Rogers stars as Willa opposite a cast that includes Katie Thompson (Off-Broadway's Giant), F. Michael Haynie (Wicked), Forrest McClendon (The Scottsboro Boys), Anne L. Nathan (Once), Ben Fankhauser (Newsies) and Aaron Ramey (The Bridges of Madison County).
Rounding out the cast are Andie Alhadeff (Jasper in Deadland), Will Erat (Catch Me If You Can), Victoria Huston-Elem (Golden Boy of the Blue Ridge), Ellyn Marie Marsh (Kinky Boots), Eric Sisco and Joel Waggoner.
Listen to "Map of Scars," performed by Rogers, from We Foxes. We Foxes is described as "a southern Gothic thriller set in small-town Missouri, 1945. It's the story of Willa, a tough and unmannered orphan girl, and her adoption by the crafty Sheriff's wife, Vesta Quimby. When Willa discovers the dark secrets beneath the floorboards, a war cuts them apart and Willa must fight to survive. After all, Vesta Quimby is the most beloved and powerful woman in town. Yet she's less humanitarian socialite than she is Machiavellian sociopath. Can Willa discover her own salvation, deliver herself into courage, and sacrifice everything to escape Vesta? It is a story of intense human struggle, deliverance, and the great salvation found only through oneself. The epic period musical is mostly sung-through, combining bluegrass, country, big band and concert music of the 1940s, infused with the contemporary folk-rock of today."
We Foxes was commissioned by Broadway Across America and has been in residence at the 5th Avenue in Seattle, Goodspeed, TheatreWorks, Silicon Valley's Writer's Retreat, Pace New Musicals, CAP 21 and the Weston Playhouse.
Oliver has written eight musicals and is a 2011 Lucille Lortel Award nominee, a 2009 Jonathan Larson grant recipient and the 2008 Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theatre recipient. His work has been featured at the Kennedy Center, Off-Broadway and on television. Read more about his work in Playbill.com's Contemporary Musical Theatre Songwriters You Should Know.
The readings are open to the public with a suggested donation of $5. Reservations can be made by visiting YorkTheatre.org or by calling (212) 935-5820.
